


Spangled

by LightsOut



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 03:16:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2412923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightsOut/pseuds/LightsOut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Secretly Tony writes fan fiction and he has a crush on Steve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Basically this is what happens when I watch Tangled and Iron Man one after the other.

_Chapter One_

_This is the story of how I died._

_But don’t worry, this is actually a very fun story and… the truth is… it isn’t even mine._

_This is the story of a guy named Steve and it starts with the sun. Now, once upon a time a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens and from this drop of sun grew a magic, golden flower. It had the ability to bestow strength, beauty and long life._

_Centuries passed and a hop, skip and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen and the Queen, well, she was about to have a baby and she got sick, really sick._

_She was running out of time and that’s when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or, in this case, a magic golden flower._

_Instead of sharing the sun’s gift, an evil sorcerer named the Red Skull, kept the gift for himself for hundreds of years. As a consequence of his evil spirit using the flower his skin turned red and he was unfit for civil company. Creepy, right._

_The good Doctor Abraham Erskine who wanted to help the Queen and her unborn child came across the flower after Red Skull left it accidentally uncovered and he took the flower back to the castle. Once he was there he used the flower to create a potion which would heal the Queen._

_A healthy baby boy, a prince, was born with beautiful golden hair. I’ll give you a hint – that’s Steve. To celebrate his birth the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky and for that one moment, everything was perfect._

_And then that moment ended._

_Red Skull sneaked into the palace one night and he walked into baby Steve’s room. Baby Steve was blessed with the powers from the flower and Red Skull wanted that power for himself._

_He stole the child and, just like that… gone._

_The kingdom searched and searched but they could not find the prince. For deep in a forest, in a hidden tower, Red Skull raised the child as his own. Red Skull had found his new magic flower but this time he was determined to keep it safe._

_As Steve grew and he asked why he could not leave the tower Red Skull, hidden behind a mask he’d made, answered simply that the outside world was dangerous and Steve needed to stay where he was._

_But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on his birthday the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky in hope that, one day, their lost prince would return._

“Hey, Tony, have you seen…”

Slamming his laptop closed and blushing guiltily wasn’t the smoothest reaction but Tony just jumped right in, “Hey. What are you looking for, Cap?”

Steve looked at him with suspicion, “What are you doing?”

Tony shrugged and tried not to clutch his laptop hard enough to make his knuckles white, “Nothing important. Just… creating stuff. So, you were looking for something?”

Eventually Steve left, still looking suspicious, and Tony could breathe a sigh of relief. His team was used to his quirks and he was used to theirs but there were some secrets that were still too embarrassing to share.

Like the fact that Tony wrote fan fiction under the name ‘IronManForever’. It was extremely surprising to him that even the super spy twins hadn’t found out. He was positive about that because there was no way that they wouldn’t have mentioned it. Especially if they’d read any of it.

He was currently writing his own version of the movie ‘Tangled’ with Steve as Rapunzel. Even writing it felt weird but once he’d had the idea Tony hadn’t even tried to resist. If he happened to cast himself in the roll of Flynn Rider nobody would know. Well, nobody except his readers. The fact that he was anonymous but he still had readers always made him feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside. Another reason why he was going to keep his secret hobby from the other Avengers.

Tony hid the document in his fan fiction folder that was buried so deep that it took even him ten minutes to find it. It wasn’t even on the Stark Industries server because he didn’t want anyone remotely close to him to stumble across it.

Once that was done he swapped the laptop for his tablet and he pulled up the latest schematics for the iron man suit. Someone was bound to interrupt him again so he would just have to save his writing for later when he was alone in bed.

He genuinely enjoyed writing and he loved the fact that he could do it without anyone finding out who he really was. JARVIS had suggested the name ‘IronManForever’ under the idea of hiding in plain sight and it had worked well. Tony had been writing fan fiction for five years and nobody had ever suspected him of being the real Iron Man. He found it rather freeing and it was the best way to get rid of some of the crazy ideas floating around his head. He chose to ignore the fact that the recent ones featured Steve a lot. Thankfully nobody had pointed that out directly to him.

Tony tinkered for a while before he was bored of that and he brought up his AO3 account. There were a couple of comments on some recent stories which were nice and a lot of hits on his most recent one which was a Black Widow/Merida crossover. It wasn’t Tony’s fault that ‘Brave’ was one of Natasha’s favourite films.

Tony had just signed out of his account when Natasha asked, “What are you looking at?”

Tony blushed and closed the screen, “Nothing.”

She looked at him dryly, “You are a terrible liar. If you don’t tell me I will just start snooping.”

Tony sighed, when he was prepared he was a much better liar than she gave him credit for, “Fine, I was surfing the internet and I found something about you.”

Natasha huffed, “What about me?”

Tony tried hard not to look smug, “It’s something called fan fiction. A lot of it emerged after the battle of New York. This one seems to have cast you as Merida from ‘Brave’. It’s pretty good actually although the parts involving Barton are a bit strange.”

Natasha sat down in the chair next to him, “Bring it up. If people are going to write about me I want to see if they’re getting it right.”

Tony snorted and brought up the webpage, “You might want to be careful about what you search then. We don’t want you stalking and scaring the living daylights out of innocents who are writing for fun.”

Tony had never sat next to someone while they looked at one of his pieces of writing. It was a strange sensation. Every time Natasha laughed reluctantly he wanted to grin and start cheering but he restrained himself. It was pretty long so by the time they’d finished reading and critiquing (she actually gave him some pretty good tips) it was lunchtime.

Natasha found Barton raiding the cookie jar in the kitchen and she kicked him in the back of the knee, “Eat some proper food Clint.”

Clint glared at them, “Where have you guys been?”

Natasha started pulling out the ingredients for pasta, “Tony’s workshop. We were bonding.”

Tony snorted at her dry tone and he dared to kiss her on the cheek on his way to the fridge, “Aw, you love me Nat. Have any of you seen Steve?”

Steve answered from the doorway, “You only have to look. What were you bonding about?”

Natasha handed Steve a few ingredients so that they could start working on dinner together, “Something called fan fiction. Apparently I would make an awesome Merida and I am inclined to agree.”

Steve looked at Tony with realisation, “Ah, so that’s what you were doing. Didn’t you want me to know that you could read Tony?”

Tony rolled his eyes but secretly he was pleased about the teasing, “Hey, I’m a genius remember and I was just searching random stuff on the internet. What people decide to write is none of my business. This one just happened to be decent.”

Natasha started laughing randomly and she winked at Tony, “Black arrows.”

Tony howled with laughter at the reference to a clumsy Clint Barton in his fan fiction. Steve and Clint looked at them both like they were crazy which only made them laugh harder.

Eventually they calmed down and dinner was a pretty quiet affair since that Thor wasn’t on Earth and Bruce was busy working in his lab. Coulson dropped by to chat to Barton (Tony had many theories about those two) and Natasha disappeared (possibly to look up more fan fiction about herself) and Tony was left alone with Steve.

This was Tony’s chance to say something. He could finally tell Steve in private that he had feelings for him and Tony would get an answer. Instead Tony panicked, “Do you want a drink?”

Steve frowned, “I can’t get drunk. You know that. What is going on with you Tony?”

Tony opened his mouth to answer, choked and started walking quickly from the room, “Well, I’d better get on with things. Very busy, important inventions things. Super busy.”

Tony collapsed onto his own bed and groaned loudly. JARVIS asked, “Are you alright, sir? You seem to be stressed.”

Tony mumbled into the pillow, “I’m fine JARVIS. There is absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Tony rolled over onto his back, grabbed his laptop and opened the document he’d been working on before Steve had walked into his workshop.

 

_Many years later, at the castle there was a break in. The handsome man Tony Stark was working with a man, codename Hawkeye, and a woman, codename Black Widow. They lowered Tony down through the ceiling after admiring the view and listening to Tony claim that he wanted a castle. Tony swiped the crown from underneath the very noses of the guards and they all ran off together across the roof of the castle. They were chased by the palace guards but Tony felt great._

_As they ran Tony yelled, “Can’t you picture me in a castle of my own because I certainly can. Oh, the things we’ve seen and it’s only eight in the morning. This is a very big day.”_

_Meanwhile, back at the tower, Steve was preparing to ask his father, Red Skull, an important question. It was the day before his eighteenth birthday and he was finally going to ask Red Skull if he would take him to see where the floating lights came from. His curiosity was too much to ignore. He was going to be brave. It was for his eighteenth birthday after all._

_Lifting the large basket with his father standing inside was easy for Steve with his super strength and his father was soon stepping into his room. Steve saw the look of disgust on his father’s face when he looked at the painted walls but he ignored it. His father tolerated his hobbies because they kept him occupied while he went away on long trips._

_His father moved over to the mirror, “Steve, look in the mirror. Do you know what I see? I see a young, confident, strong, young man. Oh, look, you’re here too. Don’t look like that Steve. I’m only teasing.”_

_Steve laughed nervously, “Of course, well tomorrow is…”_

_Red Skull interrupted, “Steve, I’m feeling rather tired. Will you get me my box?”_

_Steve nodded, “Of course, father.”_

_Steve brought the black coloured box from his bedroom and he waited impatiently while his father did something with the strange dried herbs and swallowed them. His father looked better immediately._

_Before he could speak, Steve said, “So, father, earlier I was saying that tomorrow is a pretty big day and you didn’t really respond so I am just going to tell you. It’s my birthday.”_

_Red Skull smirked, “No, no, no, can’t be. I distinctly remember, your birthday was last year.”_

_Steve gave him a small smile, “That’s the funny thing about birthday’s, they’re kind of an annual thing. Father, I’m turning eighteen and I wanted to ask… what I really want for this birthday…”_

_Red Skull snapped impatiently, “Out with it Steve.”_

_Steve took a deep breath, “I want to see the floating lights.”_

_Red Skull frowned, “What?”_

_Steve fidgeted nervously, “Well, I was hoping that you would take me to see the floating lights.”_

_“Oh, you mean the stars.”_

_“Well, that’s the thing, I’ve charter stars and they remain constant but these lights appear on my birthday. Only on my birthday. I can’t help but feel like they’re meant for me. I need to see them, father, and not just from my window but in person. I have to know what they are.”_

_Red Skull paced, “You want to go outside? You know why you stay up in this tower.”_

_“I know…”_

_“It’s to keep you safe Steve. I know best and you should listen to me. You are staying in this tower Steve. Now, I have to go out for a short while but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I expect you to drop the subject by the time I get back. I don’t want you to ask if you can leave this tower ever again.”_

_Steve nodded, “Alright father.”_

_Steve slumped and lowered his father to the ground using the platform. Red Skull called up, “I’ll be back.”_

_Steve sighed and said quietly, “I’ll be here.”_

_Back in the forest Tony was still running when they came across some wanted posters. He groaned, “These pictures always make me look terrible.”_

_Hawkeye rolled his eyes, “Who cares?”_

_Tony pouted, “That’s easy for you to say. You guys look amazing.”_

_There was the ominous growling sound and Tony shuddered. The palace guards had brought out the Hulk to chase them down. The three of them ran until they found themselves trapped. Tony looked up the small cliff and turned to the others, “Alright, you two give me a boost and then I’ll pull you up.”_

_Black Widow frowned, “Give us the satchel first.”_

_Tony gasped, “What? I just… I can’t believe that after all we’ve been through you two don’t trust me? Ouch.”_

_Tony handed over the satchel and they worked to lift him up. Once he was up Hawkeye scowled, “Now help us up, pretty boy.”_

_Tony grinned and showed them the satchel he’d grabbed while he’d climbed, “Sorry, guys, my hands are full.”_

_Natasha yelled, “Damn it Stark!”_

_Tony was being closely followed by the palace guards and the Hulk. After some clever manoeuvring by the handsome thief it was only the Hulk on his tale and, honestly, Tony would’ve preferred an entire battalion of palace guards._

_The Hulk kept reaching out to grab the satchel with the crown inside but Tony managed to avoid the Hulk’s large hands. Then, in a moment of madness, Tony tripped and the satchel was thrown over the edge of a high cliff. Luckily the satchel caught on a tree branch before they could lose it._

_Tony scrambled to the edge, followed by the Hulk and they both attempted to grab the satchel. Unfortunately the tree branch broke and together they all went plummeting down. The branch hit a rock, separating Tony and the Hulk. At the bottom Tony used the separation to his advantage and he hid in an alcove covered with vegetation._

_It turned out that it wasn’t an alcove at all but instead it was a passageway. Tony followed the path and he emerged in a large space with a strange, slightly ugly tower next to a small stream. Curious, and seeing a good hideout, Tony climbed the tower. He crawled through the window at the top, checked the satchel and smiled._

_To the crown he said out loud, “Ah, alone together at last.”_

_This was the moment when something hit him really hard in the head and he blacked out._


	2. Chapter 2

Two days. Tony had gone two days without writing a word thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s endless protocols and it was making him grumpy. He was stuck in the middle of nowhere with Steve on a recon assignment and he still couldn’t figure out why he’d been dragged along.

Tony glared through the binoculars at the snow, “I hate Fury.”

Steve answered tiredly, “If it is any consolation, I’m pretty sure that Fury hates you as well.”

Tony smirked, “Actually, it kind of is. Why are we doing this? Can’t he get one of the suits to do it?”

Steve sighed, “I volunteered Tony. You didn’t have to come along as well.”

Tony grumbled, “Actually I did. Coulson wasn’t taking no for an answer. Hey, what do you think is going on between Birdbrain and Agent Agent?”

Steve frowned, “Do you have to make up nicknames for everyone? They’re not very nice Tony.”

Tony scowled, “If I meant them someone would’ve done a lot more than just punch me up to this point.”

Steve snorted, “How many attempts have been made on your life Tony?”

Tony scoffed, “Those were for different things, not my amazing nicknames, Capsicle.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “Not everyone is as nice as I am Tony.”

Tony said seriously, “Thank god for that or we’d all be out of a job. So, Barton and Coulson?”

“It’s none of our business Tony.”

“I didn’t say that it was! I just want to know if I need to get them a wedding present anytime soon.”

“I think that Thor will come first. Maybe they’ll accept a life’s supply of pop tarts as a gift.”

Tony clapped him on the back, “That’s not a bad idea. I like Jane. She’s feisty, sharp and she has good taste.”

“Is this because she called you cute when you offered to upgrade her telescope? I didn’t realise that you were so easy Tony.”

Tony snorted, “Everyone thinks that I’m easy, Cap’ and no, well partly yes, but seriously, I like her.”

When they eventually made it home Tony was exhausted, sore and he needed a year of sleep but as soon as he was alone he pulled out his laptop from its hiding place and he started to write.

 

_The last thing Steve expected was for a man to climb into his bedroom. Especially a man who was so handsome. He didn’t look as cruel as his father had said men from the outside world were but he was knocked out. Steve felt slightly guilty for that. A frying pan was useful in so many ways and softer than his fist so he was glad that he’d used the pan to hit him._

_After many attempts Steve managed to shut the man in his wardrobe and then he noticed something in the reflection of the mirror. The satchel was open and there was something shiny inside. It looked like a silver and blue crown. Steve had never seen one in real life but he was sure that this one was made for a man. The lines of it weren’t very feminine. Experimentally he put the crown on his head and he smiled. He looked kind of handsome._

_Then his father called out, “Steve.”_

_He flinched, threw the crown and the satchel into an empty pot (he was thinking of growing his own herbs) and he started pulling on the rope to lift his father up to the room._

_Red Skull told him, “I have a surprise for you.”_

_Steve answered, “I do too.”_

_Red Skull grunted, “I bet that my surprise is bigger. I brought back parsnips. You can make my favourite soup for dinner.”_

_Steve trued to keep his face impassive, “Great. Well, father, there is something that I want tell you…”_

_Red Skull interrupted, “Oh Steve, you know how I hate leaving you in the middle of a fight. Especially when I have done absolutely nothing wrong.”_

_Steve inched his way closer to the wardrobe, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier.”_

_Red Skull frowned, “I hope that you’re not still talking about the stars.”_

_“Floating lights and yes, I’m building up to the issue.”_

_“I thought that we’d dropped it Steve.”_

_“I know, but if you’ll just…”_

_Red Skull yelled, “Enough with the floating lights. You’re not leaving this tower! Ever!”_

_Steve froze and he moved his hand away from the wardrobe slowly. Red Skull toyed with the edge of his mask as he sat down. Steve made a quick decision and he said meekly, “I was just going to say that I’ve decided on what I want for my birthday. I’d like some more of that white paint made from the shells you once brought back.”_

_Red Skull sighed, “That’s a long trip Steve. At least three days.”_

_Steve glanced out of the window, “I just thought that it was a better idea than the… stars.”_

_Red Skull stood up, “Will you be alright on your own?”_

_Steve nodded, “I know that I’m safe so long as I’m here.”_

_As soon as Red Skull was gone Steve raced to the wardrobe. He opened it carefully, surprised to see that the man wasn’t awake and he lifted the man into a chair. He moved the chair to the centre of the room and once that was done he tied him up._

_It took a long time but eventually the man woke up. Steve was standing in the shadows so that he wasn’t easily seen and he told the man calmly, “Struggling is pointless. I know why you’re here and I’m not afraid of you.” Steve walked out of the shadows, “Who are you and how did you find me?”_

_Tony’s jaw dropped, “Ah, I know not who you are nor how I came to find you but may I say… Hi, the name’s Tony Stark. How is your day going?”_

_Steve threatened him with the frying pan, “Who else knows my location Tony Stark?”_

_“Look, blondie…”_

_“Steve.”_

_“Steve? Nice. Look, I was just gallivanting through the forest, I came across a tower and… hang on, where is my satchel?_

_“I’ve hidden it somewhere you will never find it.”_

_Tony looked around and smirked, “It’s in that pot over there.”_

Tony fell asleep with his laptop resting on his lap and the document open. Thank all of the gods that his door was locked. Tony woke up the next day feeling grumpy, sore and craving a boatload of coffee. It took a while but eventually he managed to climb out of bed.

He padded to the kitchen, glad that no one was there to see him in his Captain America boxers and Iron Man socks. Not that it would’ve bothered him if anyone was around. It was his house and he could wear whatever he liked.

Tony was convinced that there was nothing in the world that was better than a hot cup of coffee until Steve walked in the room and he was shirtless.

Steve blushed slightly, “Ah, good afternoon Tony.”

Tony frowned, “Afternoon?” He looked at the clock, “Wow, I didn’t realise what time it was. I wondered why it was so quiet.”

Steve shrugged and grabbed the milk from the fridge, “Natasha and Clint murmured something about donuts and secret missions. Bruce is in his lab like always and Thor is still somewhere else.”

Tony nodded and grabbed another cup of coffee, “I’m gonna head down to the ‘shop and try to catch up on the work that I missed. You’re welcome to stretch out on the couch and draw if you want.”

Steve gave him a surprised smile, “Thanks Tony. I’m going to take Bruce his lunch first. If I don’t I’ll forget.”

Tony smiled fondly, “Good job, Cap’. I’ll see you down there.”

When Tony was curled in bed late that night he continued with his writing.

 

_Steve hit Tony with the frying pan for the second time._

_When Tony woke up Steve gloated, “There, now it’s hidden where you will never find it.”_

_Tony scowled_

Tony was interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked up, reluctantly closed the document after saving it and called out, “It’s open.”

Steve walked in hesitantly, “Hey, Tony. I know it’s late but I wanted to say thanks.”

Tony frowned slightly, “Thanks for what?”

“For coming with me on the mission and for letting me hang out in your space. It was fun.”

Tony was baffled. Steve thought that putting up with him griping and fixing stuff in the background was fun?

Tony glanced at his laptop, “Steve… no problem. This is your home now after all.”

Steve nodded, smiling warmly and he headed for the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow Tony.”

Tony switched off his laptop and he stretched out in his large bed, mulling over his short conversation with Steve until he drifted off to sleep.

Tony woke up the next day and he knew that it was time. He’d done some remodelling when the Avengers had moved in and there was still one room that Tony hadn’t unlocked. It had been completed two months before but Tony was selfish and he’d enjoyed Steve’s company in his workshop too much. It was time to change things.

Tony walked into the kitchen wearing a faded band t-shirt and jeans, “Hey, Cap’. You’re just the man I was looking for. I’ve got something to show you.”

Steve looked faintly surprised and he gestured to the coffee machine, “Don’t you want a cup first?”

Tony grinned, “Nope, I’m feeling surprisingly perky this morning. You’d better try to keep up Captain.”

Steve followed Tony out of the room. He didn’t ask where they were going although Tony was sure that he was curious and finally Tony stopped in front of the right door. He typed in the code and the door swung open.

Tony said, “This is for you Steve. If you want it.”

Steve stepped inside, curious, and he gasped softly, “Tony, is this an art studio?”

Tony walked inside as well, “You’ve got all of the toys that you could possibly need and twenty-four access on the computer to an art supplier that is extremely well stocked. Everyone needs their own space to unwind. For Clint it’s the roof and his archery set. For Bruce it’s his yoga studio. Natasha has her library. I have my workshop and now you have your art studio. Is this okay Steve?”

Steve turned to him with shining eyes, “It’s much better than okay.”

Surprisingly Steve pulled him in for a tight hug and Tony had to remind himself not to sniff the guy or do anything weird like that, “I’m glad that you like it, Cap’. So, I’ll leave you to create then. Oh, you can change the lighting through various settings using that control and I know that you were paying attention when I entered the code so that’s your personal number now. If you want the others to have access you should let me know and I’ll programme separate numbers for them.

Tony went to leave but he paused when Steve said, “Tony, you’re always welcome here.”

Tony nodded and left the room before he could do something stupid like throw himself on Captain America. That would be embarrassing. When Tony got back to the kitchen he still didn’t feel like having coffee so he grabbed some things to make a sandwich. JARVIS was crunching numbers so he didn’t have anything urgent to do in his workshop for the day and he wasn’t in the mood to create something new. He didn’t feel like going out and now that he thought about it he couldn’t remember the last time when he’d been so inclined to do nothing.

Deciding that he would try slouching on the sofa with a sandwich, watching television until he was bored with being unproductive, was a new thing for him. Amazingly, after half an hour he was still content and he had no intentions to get up. Seeing the look on Barton’s face when he strode through the living room and almost walked into the table was hilarious.

Tony just nodded, “Barton.”

Clint looked confused, “Tony? Are you watching Terminator by yourself?”

Tony gave him his widest grin, “Just window shopping.”

He turned back to the TV, effectively dismissing the archer, and he was blessedly uninterrupted for another two hours. He’d moved onto channel surfing and he was watching old episodes of ‘A Town Called Eureka’. He’d missed the show the first time around but a town where everyone was a genius was an idea he could get behind. He told JARVIS to order the box set.

When he was interrupted again it was by Steve who was on his way to the kitchen, “Tony?”

Tony nodded, “Hey Cap’.”

“This isn’t like you.”

Tony shrugged, “I thought I’d try something different. I’m sure that I’ll move eventually. Hey, JARVIS, I fancy pizza tonight. Get the good stuff.”

JARVIS replied, “Indeed, sir. Am I ordering enough for everyone?”

“Of course. Make sure that you leave the peppers off for Natasha and there should be no meat on Clint’s veggie pizza.”

Steve was looking at him like he’d grown another head, “You know everyone’s preferences?”

Tony snorted, “Of course. You guys have been living here long enough.”

“Tony, we’ve ordered pizza a total of seven times since we’ve been living here.”

“Is that all? That’s a tragedy. Pizza is great.”

Steve shook his head and moved into the kitchen so Tony went back to watching his show. Tony didn’t notice when Natasha sat down in the armchair but when he finally realised that she was there he said, “I ordered pizza.”

She nodded, “Steve told me. He also told me that you were doing… this.”

Tony chuckled, “I am allowed to relax.”

“Funny, Steve said the same thing after our last battle when you insisted that you had to fix the thrusters to your suit right then and there on the table in the debriefing room.”

Tony shrugged, “Everyone has their little quirks. So, how are you finding fan fiction?”

Her nose wrinkled, “Some of it is… strange. They know far too much for my liking.”

Tony laughed, “Have you checked out some of the Clint stuff?” She shook her head, “Oh, that’s the best.”

She looked at him triumphantly, “I knew that it wasn’t just a case of you stumbling across it.”

Tony shrugged, blushing slightly, “Okay, so I’ve read a few. Some of them are really funny. If you want I can recommend some and put them on your computer in the library.”

Natasha nodded and Tony clicked away on his own tablet. He studiously avoided recommending his own stuff and sought out some of the ones he really liked by other authors. When he was done and Natasha showed no signs of leaving Tony picked up the remote, “Is there anything that you want to watch?”

Natasha looked at him seriously, “Desperate housewives.”

That show was another thing that Tony and Natasha had bonded over so he nodded and pulled up one of their favourite episodes. It would never be deleted if Tony had his way (which he usually did). When Clint walked through the living room and he saw them both laughing hysterically at the TV he walked away slowly.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony woke up, startled, when someone shook his shoulder gently, “Wha…”

The half-finished question was answered with Steve’s gentle voice, “You’re going to hurt your neck Tony. Oh, and there is the imprint of a screwdriver on your forehead.”

Tony mumbled sleepily and suddenly he was being picked up bridal-style by Captain America, “Whoa, muscles.”

Tony was far too tired to be embarrassed by that dumb statement. He could feel as well as hear Steve’s small, answering chuckle and Tony just threw his arms around Steve’s shoulders to hang on. He mumbled into Steve’s shoulder, “I can walk.”

Steve laughed softly again, “I know. You’re the only one, except for Barton maybe, who would let me pick you up like this.”

Tony shrugged and tried not to fall asleep again. He was exhausted. When Steve gently lowered him to his bed Tony clutched at his shirt, “Shoes off, please.”

Steve grinned and had obviously decided to humour him because he pulled off his shoes. He reached for Tony socks as well but Tony wriggled his toes and told him, “My feet get cold.”

Steve nodded and straightened, “Anything else Tony?”

Tony sighed and climbed under the covers, still wearing his jeans and shirt. He was fairly sure that Steve had gone once he’d closed his eyes so he mumbled into the pillow, “Sleep with me.”

The next day Tony felt refreshed and Steve was right. His neck didn’t hurt half as much as it would if he’d woken up against his desk instead of his pillow. He had one cup of coffee because he wanted something in his hand while he made notes at the kitchen table.

When Steve walked into the room, looking slightly tired, Tony smiled brightly, “Good morning, Cap’. What’s on the agenda for today?”

Steve looked unusually uncomfortable, “Training and a meeting with Coulson.”

Tony winked, “You’d better watch out. Clint might get jealous.”

Steve looked like he was feeling awkward and he left the room fairly quickly, “Yeah, bye Tony.”

Tony frowned at the doorway, “What was that about?”

Surprisingly Natasha answered, “What did you do?”

Tony jumped and turned around to look at her. She looked mad and he defended, “I didn’t do anything! Well, I don’t think that I did. I saw him last night and he was perfectly fine.”

Natasha hummed, “He’s acting strangely but only around you.”

Tony frowned, “Well, as far as I am aware, I didn’t do anything and you can’t blame me for something that I didn’t do.”

Natasha shrugged and grabbed a yoghurt from the fridge, “Steve was planning on telling you something tonight.”

Tony frowned, “That’s very specific. Do you know what it is?”

Natasha shrugged, “I have an idea. I’m not going to tell you but I thought that I would give you a warning so that you’re not taken by surprise and act all awkward when he wants to speak to you.”

Tony refused to dignify that with a statement and he took his coffee down to his workshop where machines were much simpler than people. In between engineering he wrote bits and bits of his Avengers/Tangled fan fiction.

 

_Tony sighed as Steve ran through the field. He was like a puppy. An annoying but endearing puppy that was being taken on its first walk. Tony half expected Steve to start singing. That just led him to thoughts about how nice Steve’s singing voice might be and that wasn’t something he needed to dwell on. Eventually Steve threw himself down onto the grass and stayed where he was._

_After a long moment Steve groaned, “My father is going to kill me for this but that’s alright, it’s fine, he’ll never have to know. Oh god, he’s going to know. He’ll find out and I’ll be locked away forever and I’ll never get to do this again. This grass is so soft. I should probably be wearing shoes. Shoes are a thing, right?_

_Tony, seeing a prime opportunity, sat down in the grass next to him, “Don’t worry about it Steve. Disobeying parents and going on forbidden road trips are what life is all about. I mean, this will probably crush your father’s soul but that’s fine.”_

_Steve glared at Tony, “I am going to see those lanterns and you are taking me there. Don’t try to talk me out of this.” He gestured to the frying pan in his hand, “I will use this.”_

 

Steve sought him out much later in the day, entering his workshop and he looked smart whereas Tony was smudged with engine grease and sweat.

Tony grinned, “Hey, Cap’. You’re looking good. Have you got a hot date for tonight?”

Steve smiled weakly, “Tony, can I talk to you?”

Tony put down the wrench he was holding, “Of course you can.”

Steve was still hovering close to the doorway and he looked for one moment like he was going to run out of there. Instead he took a deep breath, looked Tony right in the eye and asked, “Tony Stark, will you go on a date with me?”

Tony’s jaw dropped and his shock lasted long enough for Steve to start turning away. Tony ran to catch up, tripping over a box of tools and he almost crashed to the floor but Steve caught him.

Tony grinned at him, “My hero.” Steve flinched and Tony cursed. His tendency to mock was really ingrained. Steve helped him to stand upright but Tony kept holding onto Steve’s shoulder. He waited until Steve looked at him and he answered seriously, “Yes, I will go on a date with you but I should probably clean up and there is now grease on your white shirt so you will probably want to do the same. Sorry about that. It’s a nice shirt.”

Steve looked shocked, “You want to go out with me.”

Tony supressed the urge to laugh, “I’ve wanted to ask you out for months but I needed to be on my own for a while. It was kind of like detox from all of those one night stands.”

Tony could tell that Steve didn’t really get the reference but his small smile was so hopeful and honest that Tony didn’t care. Actually he was glad that Steve didn’t get some of the references he made because it was part of his charm.

Steve kissed Tony quickly and lightly on the cheek before he practically bounced up the stairs to his own room. Tony was quick about getting to his own room because he wanted to be ready for whatever Steve had in store. After realising that he didn’t really have a clue about dating (one night stands didn’t count and Pepper had liked to plan their dates) he was led by Steve’s example and he chose some dark, soft denim jeans that were quite smart and a black button down shirt that didn’t look too bad.

The dark colours served to highlight his rich skin tone and it wasn’t as flashy as ‘Iron Man’. Tonight he wanted to be Tony on a date with Steve. Steve met him in the kitchen and the appreciative look in Steve’s eyes was hard to miss.

Tony smiled, allowing some of the fondness he felt to show, “Looking good, Steve.”

Steve didn’t miss the pointed use of his real name and his mouth curved into a genuine smile, “You too, Tony. Are you sure that you’re ready for this?”

Tony reached out for Steve’s hand and he nodded, “I’m looking forward to it.”

In the other room, where they were hidden from plain sight, Clint handed Natasha a fifty dollar bill and she smiled.

Steve took Tony to a small diner he’d never been to but the way the waiter’s fawned over Steve made it obvious that he’d spent some time. A particularly handsome waiter named Javier had looked Tony up and down, winked at Steve and drawled, “Nice.”

Apparently Tony hadn’t lost his ability to blush because he didn’t have a doubt that his cheeks were red. Steve had laughed nervously and ordered Tony’s favourite bottle of wine for the table. Tony hadn’t known that Steve knew he even had a favourite.

Tony had honestly expected it to be awkward but once he’d relaxed and Steve had started talking about finding Natasha pushing Clint out of an air duct because he’d stolen her underwear. They both laughed and talked until closing and Steve looked around in surprise.

He chuckled, “I was going to suggest a late night movie after dinner.”

Tony grinned, “We could always lock the door to the private screening room at home and watch something there.”

Steve was smiling widely, “Do you ever sleep at a normal time Tony?”

Tony sighed, “Sleep is overrated. If you’re tired though we can always do that another night. Only if you want to.”

Steve grabbed Tony’s waving hands and answered sincerely, “I’d love to. Come on, I promised Natasha that I’d have you home at a reasonable hour.”

Despite their intentions to go home they both walked slowly. Tony would be worried about walking through the streets of New York in the middle of the night if he was with anyone except Steve (and maybe Natasha because of the whole deadly assassin thing). Steve kissed him goodnight at his bedroom door, taking Tony’s teasing in the playful nature that it was intended.

Just to add to the adorable cheesiness of the situation Steve lifted Tony’s hand and he brushed a kiss across his knuckles. He said goodnight and Tony was completely unashamed about watching Steve’s ass until it was out of sight.

Once Tony had climbed into bed he was too wired and happy from his date to sleep so he grabbed his laptop and started to type.

 

_Tony opened the door to the tavern and he heard Steve gasp. To be fair, ‘The Snuggly Duckling’ was a misleading name. The worst of the worst were inside and Tony grinned at them all, “You’re finest table please.”_

_Tony gently nudged Steve so that he walked inside. If this didn’t work then Tony was out of ideas. He needed his satchel back before Hawkeye and Black Widow caught up with him. He was convinced that his plan was working until he started leading a shocked Steve towards the doorway and someone stepped in their way._

_Tony was grabbed and he heard someone going for the guards. This wasn’t looking good for him._

_Then, to his complete surprise, Steve hit one of the mercenaries in the head with his frying pan and ordered, “Put him down. Look, I don’t know where I am and I need him to be my guard because I’ve been dreaming of seeing those lights for my entire life and I don’t get out much. Find your humanity.”_

_The grips on Tony lessened and everyone was staring at Steve who looked beautiful in the candlelight…_

_Thankfully Tony was distracted from hat train of thought when a mercenary growled, “I had a dream once.”_

_Tony didn’t expect Steve to make friends with every single man in the room but he wasn’t as surprised as he should be. Steve had a magnetic personality about him that made him impossible to like. When a man came crashing into the room saying that he’d fetched the guards the mercenaries showed Steve and Tony a secret passageway._

_They walked down the passageway and Tony said, “Well, I’ve got to say that I didn’t know you had that in you back there. That was pretty impressive.”_

_Steve answered excitedly, “I know.” Then, calmer, he said, “I know. So, Tony, where are you from?”_

_Tony lifted the lantern higher, “Whoa, no, I don’t do backstories. I am, however, becoming very interested in yours. Now, I know that I’m not to ask about your father or the tower… here’s my question, if you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven’t you gone before?”_

_Steve started to answer but the ground began to shake and Tony heard his name being called. He grabbed Steve’s hand, pulling him forward, and yelled, “Run.”_

_They emerged in an open space next to a dam and Steve looked at the men who followed them, “Who is that?”_

_Tony answered, “They don’t like me.”_

_Steve looked over the ledge where two men crashed emerged, “Who’s that?”_

_Tony flinched, “They don’t like me either.”_

_The Hulk emerged behind the guards and this time Steve sounded amazed, “Who’s that?”_

_Tony sighed and grabbed Steve’s shoulders, “Let’s just assume, for the moment, that everyone in here doesn’t like me.”_

_Steve handed Tony his frying pan, “Hold that.”_

_He then jumped and, crossing the impressive distance, he landed safely on the other ledge. Tony turned to face the other guards and the man in the front grinned, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”_

_With nothing else at his disposal he fended off the attacks with the frying pan and it was surprisingly effective. With the men lying at his feet Tony twirled the pan, “Oh mama, I have got to get me one of these.”_

_The Hulk stepped forward and Tony gave the towering green giant a nervous grin, “How about two out of three?”_

_Before the Hulk could do anything Steve yelled, “Tony.”_

_Tony grabbed the end of the rope on impulse and Steve tugged so that Tony went backwards over the ledge. To Tony’s surprise Steve had a firm grip and Tony was swung across. He narrowly avoided Hawkeye and Natasha, his gloating cut short when he crashed into the wooden canal that controlled the overflow from the dam._

_His embarrassment was short lived as he looked up to find the Hulk making his way across to Steve. Tony yelled, “Come on Steve. Jump.”_

_Steve jumped at Tony’s word and the Hulk missed him. They both ran as the wooden structure containing the water started to break apart thanks to the Hulk and Tony. The water raced after them and they both ran into a small cave. Despite the rocks that crashed in front of the opening the water still poured in at an alarming rate. They climbed as high as they could but the level of water kept rising._

_Steve groaned, “My father was right. I shouldn’t have done this. I’m so sorry Tony.”_

_Tony sighed, “My full name is Anthony Edward Stark. Someone might as well know. Oh, and there is a good chance that I love you, golden boy.”_

_Steve looked at him with amazement and then admitted, “I have super strength and I’m pretty sure that I love you too.”_

_Tony started to grin and then he frowned, “You have super what?”_

_Steve’s eyes widened, “I have super strength, hang on.”_

_Steve punched the wall behind them and Tony couldn’t have been more amazed when the solid rock crumbled. They fell out into a sedate river and when Tony scrambled out onto the shore he couldn’t stop rambling, “He has super strength. He has actual super strength. Why does he have super strength?”_

_Steve interrupted him, “Tony, calm down, and… it’s not just super strength.”_

_Tony looked at him warily, “Why are you smiling at me like that?”_


	4. Chapter 4

_The party lasted for an entire week and, honestly, I don’t remember most of it. Steve was finally home and he had a family. Dreams came true all over the place._

_As for me, well, I stopped the thieving and I still hate anyone calling me Anthony. Well, unless it’s Steve and that’s only under special circumstances._

_I know what the real question is. Did Steve and I ever get married? Well, I’m happy to say that after years of asking and asking and asking… I finally said yes._

Tony pressed the save button and then he uploaded the final chapter to his AO3 account. The story was finally finished with the bad guys defeated and true love was saved. Tony was privately thrilled with the way that the story had reflected his real life. Tony was more than thrilled with the response to the chapters so far. Having the Hulk help the characters had proved extremely popular. Tony was always willing to pant Bruce in a more favourable light to the public. He was a great guy.

Natasha whispered in his ear, “Ah-ha. I knew it.”

Tony jumped and cursed, “Damn it, Nat. What the hell are you doing?”

She looked smug, “I knew that you were the writer.”

Tony blushed. Denying it would’ve been pretty stupid at this point so he just shrugged, “Yeah, so what?”

She settled next to him on the couch, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tony closed the lid of his laptop, “It’s always been private. Not even Pepper knows. Besides, if I’d told you then Barton is the next person on the list. It’s kind of obvious how he would react.”

Natasha scowled, “But you’re good. I mean, some of it is a bit sappy and ridiculous but it’s usually in context. You’re a decent writer.”

Tony blushed, “You think?”

Nat rolled her eyes, “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it Tony. You should show Steve.”

Tony straightened, “We’ve only been dating for a month and you already want him to know all of my secrets.”

Natasha laughed, “You know about his art. If you ever need someone to beta read your work I’m willing to read stuff for you.”

Tony grinned, “Yeah?”

She nodded and headed for the kitchen. Steve came into the room just as she was leaving, “What was that about?”

Tony was still smiling, “Bonding. All of that team building stuff that you like. How are you, love?”

Steve smiled and kissed him lightly, “I’m good. I was hoping that we could have a movie night together in your room.”

Tony grinned, “That sounds perfect. Why don’t you go and set it up while I get snacks from the kitchen?”

Steve nodded and he kissed Tony again before he left the room. After a long moment of indecision Tony handed Natasha his laptop in the kitchen, “The document that’s open. It’s Barton in a Robin Hood spoof.”

Natasha grinned and said, “I’ll be in the library if anyone needs me.”

Tony grinned and grabbed some popcorn. He intended to spend the entire night and most of the morning in bed with his sexy super soldier boyfriend so if anyone disturbed Natasha it wouldn’t be him.

Steve was already stretched out on the bed when Tony walked into the room. Tony threw him the popcorn and they tussled playfully on top of the sheets as they fought over the remote. Steve let Tony win in favour of using his lap as a pillow and Tony asked, “What are we watching?”

Steve sighed happily and smiled up at him, “I’m still not caught up. You should choose.”

Tony shook his head and grinned, “You should’ve worked your way through the list we gave you by now.”

Steve kissed Tony’s stomach lightly, “It’s your fault. You’ve been distracting me.”

Tony laughed and played with Steve’s hair just because he could, “I’d say that I’m sorry but we’d both know that I’m lying. Oh, we should watch ‘2012’.”

Steve sat up slightly, “Didn’t we watch that three weeks ago?”

Tony leaned down to kiss Steve, “Exactly, that means that we can watch something but I can take advantage of you being in my bed without feeling guilty about distracting you.”

Steve snorted, “We’re never going to have a real movie night at this rate.”

He reached for the remote but Tony leaned back and lightly tossed it across the room. He’d made it himself so he wasn’t worried about it breaking. He wrapped his legs around Steve’s waist so that Steve’s head was lying just below his crotch, “I’ll make you a deal. We eat popcorn and have sex and then I will schedule an entire movie night with everyone else and we can all hang out together.”

Steve fake-scowled and sighed, “Well, I guess that would be okay.”

Tony nudged him with his foot and traced Steve’s lips with the tip of a finger, “You knew what you were getting into here, Steve.”

Steve chuckled and untangled himself so that they were lying face-to-face and he could kiss Tony properly, “Is it too late to change my mind?”

Tony chuckled, “That would be more convincing if you weren’t grinding against my thigh.”

Steve laughed as well and parted his legs so that Tony could slide his own leg in between, “Natasha submitted a report to me yesterday. She said that you were more stable and less cranky. She also used the phrase ‘bow chika wa wa’ which I assume is some sort of joke that I’m not understanding.”

Tony laughed hard and his entire body was shaking as he sniggered into Steve’s shoulder, “Yeah, but I’m guessing that phrase was actually for my benefit.”

Steve smiled and brushed his nose against Tony’s, “Are you happy Tony?”

Tony considered that question seriously. He’d always believed in ‘fake it til you make it’ but his life didn’t feel like that anymore. He had his dysfunctional family which involved a god, two assassins and corporate goddess Pepper Potts. He had the perfect boyfriend who was a super soldier with an impressive recovery rate. He had the freedom to invent as well as the time to write.

He smiled at Steve, cupping his jaw and he didn’t hold back as he answered honestly, “I’ve never been happier Steve.”

Steve hummed, pleased, “I’m glad.”

Tony stroked the fabric of Steve’s tight t-shirt, “You should be. It’s partly down to you.” Steve started to shake his head. Tony had no doubt that he was going to start a speech about how Tony had worked hard to make himself better so Tony put his hand over Steve’s mouth and he continued, “I love you Steve, and those words were terrifying to me a couple of years ago so you should feel damn special right now.” Tony smiled, his eyes crinkling slightly in the corners, “Natasha was right. I do feel stable and happy and I’m thrilled about the bow chika wa wa and I love you. Now, stop with the mushy feelings and let’s get naked.”

Steve laughed and he kissed the palm of Tony’s hand before he pulled back to say, “I love you as well and… Tony, will you please explain the phrase bow chika wa wa.” Tony slid down the bed, pulling of Steve’s pants and as he wrapped a hand around his boyfriend’s cock Steve lifted his hips and laughed, “Never mind. You can tell me later.”

Tony grinned and pressed a kiss to the thigh of the man he loved. He was going to have to start writing more about the other Avengers because, as far as he was concerned, he wanted to keep Steve all to himself.


End file.
